Mario Kart Hypercube
Mario Kart Hypercube is the latest entry in the Mario Kart series, developed primarily by Nintendo and GD Gaming Studios. It is set to be released on the titular Nintendo Hypercube, and is the 9th main series Mario Kart title. This is the 2nd Mario Kart game developed by GD Gaming, after Mario Kart Asteroid for the Nintendo Asteroid. New features included in the game include the Story Mode, a spiritual successor to Mission Mode from Mario Kart DS, the Decal Shop for purchasing Mii suits and decals for decorating karts, and the Course Creator for building and sharing battle courses. In addition, many elements from previous Mario Kart games return and are slightly modified in new ways. Gameplay The gameplay of Mario Kart Hypercube is very similar to previous games in the series, especially Mario Kart 8, and many traditional elements return. In the game, players can choose one of many different characters from the Mario series, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and pit them in kart races against up to 11 other characters in different obstacle courses with the goal of achieving the most points overall. Along the way, players can collect different items and objects to assist them during the race, with the strength of the recieved items based on their race position. Similar to the most recent installments of the racing series, the player's vehicle is customized from a set range of parts rather than being pre-made like in older titles. A player can make a number of different combinations for their vehicles using three main components: a pair of tires, a glider, and a kart body. The kart body covers not only standard karts, but also the returning bikes and ATVs from Mario Kart 8. A new feature relating to the karts in this game are Decals, which can be added to the kart bodies of saved kart combinations to customize vehicles further and give them enhanced stats in certain modes. Items also make a return in the series, in the form of Item Boxes and Coins. Item Boxes are multicolored boxes scattered in groups throughout the tracks, and when driven through, they shatter and start up a roulette to give the player an item. The type of item they recieve is based on what position they are in, with more agressive items given to lower positions while higher positions recieve more defensive-based items. Coins are another item that can be found spread along the track or in item boxes. Players can collect up to 10 coins to increase their top speed during the race, and they will lose up to 3 coins when hit by an item or track hazard. These coins also act as the "currency" of the game, with new kart customization options opening upon reaching a set amount of coins. In addition to driving on standard terrain, the ability to glide, drive underwater, and drive in anti-gravity all return; however, they undergo some minor changes in how they affect your statistics. The only major change is made to underwater driving: rather than driving underwater, players can now drift across the surface of the water in a process known as Surface Skimming. Surface Skimming can yield new shortcuts but is harder to master due to the necessity of a drift or boost. Miiverse functionality is also included in Mario Kart Hypercube through the Mario Kart Hyper Channel, or MKHC. MKHC is a spiritual successor to Mario Kart TV from'' Mario Kart 8'' and the Mario Kart Channel from Mario Kart Wii. Players can upload videos and edits of their races to Miiverse, where others can comment and like the videos uploaded. This is also the main manner used to participate in the returning Tournaments, which would be featured often through the lifespan of the Hypercube as a way for players to earn special kart pieces. Point management works identically to Mario Kart 8's system, as 12 racers are once again included. Below is a chart of the point spread comparison between these nine games: Game Modes Grand Prix Grand Prix is a basic mode where players can challenge the different cups, both Nitro and Retro, in order to win a trophy. Every cup has four races, and based on the player's rankings within those races and their overall performance, will recieve a final rank at the end of the Grand Prix. At the start of the game, four different speed options are available: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and 200cc. When 150cc is cleared, the special Mirror Mode is unlocked, which reverses the directions of all tracks in an 150cc speed. Time Trials In Time Trials, players will race alone on a track of their choosing (provided that they have unlocked said course) in order to achieve the best time that they can. There are no Item Boxes located in Time Trials; the only items that the player can use are Coins located on the track as well as 3 Mushrooms in the player's inventory at the very start of the race. Players can save their best racing time as a "Ghost", which can be compared to the Ghosts of many other players across the world as well as those of Nintendo staff included in the base game. Versus Versus is a multiplayer-based mode for casual races, although it can be played with a single racer as well. Unlike the Grand Prix, the options in Versus Mode are much more flexible. This allows things such as playing on individual tracks that have been unlocked, using only a certain type of item, adjusting the difficulty and vehicles used by the CPU, or having two teams of 6 compete for the highest scores. Battle Battle Mode has three different submodes that can be played for a different kind of racing experience. These modes include Balloon Battle, Shine Thief, and Coin Chargers. Mario Kart Hypercube has 4 race courses modified to better fit the arena-style gameplay of Battle Mode. However, the return of dedicated battle arenas provides 2 new arenas and 2 arenas from older games in the Mario Kart series to play on. In addition, Battle Mode functions alongside the new Course Creator to allow players to customize their own battle arenas and play on them. Balloon Battle In Balloon Battle, all players start off with 3 balloons attached to their kart. Getting hit by an item or hazard will pop one of your balloons, while hitting an opponent with specific items such as Mushrooms will let you steal a balloon. The player must avoid items and attack others in an attempt to be the last person standing. Balloon Battle can also be played in teams, where players earn and lose points based on whether they hit or get hit, and the team with the most points at the end of a time limit wins. Shine Thief Shine Thief features a unique item in the form of the Shine Sprites. 13 Shine Sprites will be scattered across the battle arena, and players must race to grab one of these elusive objects before the timer runs out. The timer will start with 1 minute on the clock, and after that minute, the player(s) with the least amount of Shines is eliminated, although they can still use items against others. After the initial minute, the timer will count down at a constant 30 seconds, to speed up the elimination process until a single winner is chosen. If there is a tie between people that would decide the match, the timer simply resets after counting down. Coin Chargers Coin Chargers is a brand new mode that functions similarly to Coin Runners from previous games such as Mario Kart 7. However, it features a new mechanic known as the Charge. The Charge is a special technique that lets you dash forward at blistering speeds at the cost of major handling, often preventing you from moving in any direction other than a straight line. The Charge can technically be active at any time, but it consumes up the player's Coin count. This mechanic works somewhat similarly to the turbo function found in many standard racing games. Ramming into other players during a Charge allows you to steal some of their coins or items, which acts as the main foundation for the mode. Players must use items and the Charge to earn the most coins within 2 minutes. Outside of a single player mode, there is also a teams option, where two teams of six will compete to collectively earn the most coins over the course of a few rounds. Story Mode A first for the Mario Kart series, Story Mode allows the player to set up their Mii and embark on a grand racing adventure, where they find conflict between the Mario and Bowser teams on who the better kart racers are. Levels are divided into "missions" similar to Mission Mode from Mario Kart DS, and after clearing all the missions in a level allows the player to take on a boss that can help them advance to the next level. The missions are now connected into a hub world that can be driven around, though the option to access mission from a menu still exists. Course Creator The Course Creator mode is used to create Battle Arenas that can be used in Battle Mode. Up to 16 different arenas can be made from scratch or edited from a few sample styles. These Battle Arenas can also be shared through Miiverse, where other people can download the course into their own game to use when connected to the Internet. Players have a lot of freedom in the course creator, being able to select many different parts from the start of the game; even more construction items can be unlocked by getting Star Ranks in Grand Prixs. The mode also requires you to place a certain number of Shine Sprites and Coins in order for the arena to be compatible with Shine Thief and Coin Chargers, respectively. Online Online works very similarly to Mario Kart 8. Up to 2 local players can connect to the Internet to race or battle against up to eleven others across the region or world, depending on the type selected. They can also connect to rooms where Friends registered in the Hypercube may be playing, or create custom rules to help narrow down the type of experience that players will have. When playing in these circumstances, players can earn or lose points known as VR as a way of showing the player's skill in the game. The game will automatically try to place players into groups of people with similar VR. In addition to the aforementioned methods of playing online, players can also create tournaments. Tournaments are different from standard rooms in a few ways. Tournaments will have names and icons unlike regular rooms, they have more options for customization such as choosing which courses can be played on during the tournament, and only last during a certain window of time (though players can still practice in the tournament room at any time, it will not affect their score in the tournament.) Shop The Shop is a very simple mode that shows what you can unlock through the game. It provides a breakdown of when you'll next be able to unlock Decals through earning coins. The Shop is also where you can customize your karts by adding custom emblems and decals, as well as save certain kart combinations that have been customized for single and local multiplayer. Mario Kart Hyper Channel The Mario Kart Hyper Channel, or MKHC for short, is a successor of the Mario Kart Channel and Mario Kart TV from past Mario Kart games. After a race or battle, you can save it as a replay, where it will be stored in this channel. You can edit the replays and post them on Miiverse for others to view or even download as a Ghost for their own game. The MKHC also acts as a gateway to major news and events for the title. For example, there will occasionally be tournaments hosted by Nintendo staff members that ask for a special course to be cleared as fast as possible or to reach a certain objective in an arena. Players can take part in these tournaments and upload their best scores as a video for others to see and learn from. The MKHC will also inform players of news such as when there is a new update available to download for the game. Characters There are a total of 43 playable characters in Mario Kart Hypercube, which is the largest amount in the series thus far. Out of these characters, only 24 are available at the beginning of the game, with 19 more that must be unlocked through different means. Starting Drivers Unlockable Drivers Unlocking Criteria Most characters in Mario Kart Hypercube can be unlocked by two methods. The first is by clearing a specific Grand Prix with a first-place trophy; players will know what character they will unlock due to their appearance in that specific Grand Prix even if they aren't unlocked, as well as the fact that they will generally have smarter AI than the other racers. The other method for unlocking characters is by playing Story Mode, where all characters can be unlocked by clearing different missions in the mode. The one exception to this rule is Mii, who cannot be unlocked through Grand Prixs and must be accessed by starting Story Mode and clearing the first mission. Below is a list of all methods used for unlocking all 19 hidden characters in Mario Kart Hypercube. Character Stats Frame Sizes There are three main frame sizes when selecting a vehicle body: Small, Medium, and Large. Generally, Small frames are used by characters of the Feather and Light weight classes, Medium frames are used by characters of the Shallow and Medium weight classes, and Large frames are used by characters of the Cruiser and Heavy weight classes; however, there are a few exceptions. These 3 frame sizes affect the hitbox of the vehicle, potentially making it easier to bump into others or get knocked back. Below is a table containing the frame sizes used for each character. Note that the Mii's frame size depends on its height and weight. Courses There are a total of 32 courses included in the game. 16 of these courses are brand-new, appearing for the first time in Mario Kart Hypercube. The other 16 are taken and remixed from previous Mario Kart games in the Retro Cups, with an equal amount of 2 retro courses representing each prior Mario Kart game. Nitro Courses Retro Courses Ghosts Normal Staff Ghosts Expert Staff Ghosts Vehicle Parts Bodies Wheels Gliders Items Items once again return as a major part of Mario Kart Hypercube. Item Boxes and Coins can be found scattered on every single track in the game. Collecting Coins will increase a player's coin total and boost their top speed, while Item Boxes will start a roulette to provide an item for the player to use depending on their position in the race. There are a total of 23 items that can be obtained from the Item Box, with 4 new items included. Items found on the track New items Returning items Polls Does the character table look good? Yeah, I think it looks great! It's fine, but I think it could be improved by... (comment!) No, I don't like how it looks because... (comment!) What is your favorite new mode? Story Mode Course Creator Coin Chargers Mario Kart Hyper Channel Considering the possibility of DLC series packs, which two series would you like to see in the spotlight? (Series 1) More Mario The Legend of Zelda Splatoon Animal Crossing Star Fox F-Zero Pikmin Kirby Considering the possibility of DLC series packs, which two series would you like to see in the spotlight? (Series 2) More Mario The Legend of Zelda Splatoon Animal Crossing Star Fox F-Zero Pikmin Kirby Trivia *Mario Kart Hypercube is the second game in the Mario Kart series to be developed by members of GD Gaming Studios, with the first being Mario Kart Asteroid for the Nintendo Asteroid. **Interestingly, Mario Kart Asteroid appears to feature more content in the base game than Mario Kart Hypercube does, even though the Nintendo Asteroid is a handheld device compared to the more powerful home console that is the Nintendo Hypercube. Category:Racing Games Category:Mario Kart Games Category:Nintendo Hypercube Category:GamingDylan's Fangames Category:GD Gaming Studios